Growing up poor, Dreaming, Writing

Offences. We have them. Everyone has them. We are all offended by something or someone. Someone says something or does something we don’t like or we disagree with, we are offended. Let’s stop it. Just stop being offended.

A person who is easily offended is weak-minded. We need to mature and be strong for our own sakes and for the sake of those around us, especially those we love and those over whom we have influence.

Someone offends us, and we stew on it for days, or even years. It changes us. We cannot see that person or think of that situation without feeling hurt and angry. Proverbs 19:11 says “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” But it’s hard to overlook an offence! We want to keep it next to our hearts, chew on it, take it out and polish it, sit it in our trophy case with all our other trophies. It’s mine! MINE! And it destroys our testimony. It destroys our relationships with those whom we think caused the offence. It destroys us.

God gave us a way to do the hard thing and overcome offences. Matthew 5:23-24 says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Thus, we know that it is important to God for us to overlook offences. If it is important enough for Jesus to address, then it’s for our good since everything He says and does is for our good. That’s how much he loves us. So let ‘em go. Turn ‘em loose. Fix it. Yes, it’s hard, but we can do it.